NWV News - Josephine County sheriff will not enforce new Oregon gun control law

JOSEPHINE COUNTY SHERIFF WILL NOT ENFORCE NEW OREGON GUN CONTROL LAW

By NWV Senior Political News Writer, Jim Kouri
Posted 1:00 AM Eastern
April 16, 2015
© 2015 NewsWithViews.com

Josephine County, OR. —Joining the current trend of sheriffs refusing to cooperate with laws they believe are unconstitutional or frivolous, Oregon's Josephine County sheriff's department will not enforce (soon to become) a new state law that mandates firearms purchasers to undergo background checks for private sales, according to sources in Oregon on Tuesday.

Day before, on Monday, April 13, 2015 at 9 AM Josephine County Oathkeepers spearheaded by Coordinator Joseph Rice a veteran of Afghanistan set up a picket in front of the Sheriff's office because Sheriff Dave Daniel did not answer Oathkeepers e-mail demanding to know his stance on SB911.

On Tuesday, Sheriff Dave Daniel announced to the media that he and his department won't enforce a state law being passed by lawmakers that will expand background checks to include private sales of firearms even between family members and neighbors. Pictured below is Joseph Rice being interviwed by KDRV Ch. 12 Medford Oregon.

Sheriff Daniel, who is the new top cop for Josephine County which shares a border with northern California, told reporters that believes this latest gun control law goes against his county’s charter. He also said his department doesn't have a sufficient number of deputies to pursue lawbreakers who are committing a frivolous misdemeanor.

State Senate Bill 941 (SB-941) which is called the Oregon Firearms Safety Act, passed a full vote on Tuesday. It mandates law enforcement departments throughout the state to conduct criminal background checks for private gun transfers. Oregon will then become the 12th state to add such a law to their Penal Codes. This law is in addition to the background checks at stores that sell firearms to the public.

The liberal-left supporters of the law claim that any restriction that makes it difficult for criminals to get their hands on firearms is victory on crime. But those opposed to the law, like Sheriff Daniel, have said repeatedly that criminals will manage to get their hands on guns anyway and will not be deterred by the threat of spending less than a year in a local jail for committing a Class B misdemeanor.

In a letter to the Josephine County Sheriff, Oath Keeper's officials said point blank quoting the County Charter, "No elected or appointed officials of Josephine County shall pass or enforce any law, ordinance, resolution, administrative rule, or statute that denies or erodes any of the provisions of this Charter Amendment."

The letter goes on to say, "Where any current law, ordinance, resolution, administrative rule, or statute within or outside of Josephine County may be interpreted to deny or erode any of the provisions of this Charter Amendment, that interpretation is void and is not to be enforced within Josephine County by any individual, group, or federal, state, or local governmental body or agency."

While the letter covers a number of issues, it originally covered the threat of the senate's bill titled Oregon Firearms Safety Act (SB 941), which expands background checks to the private transfer of firearms.

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